Because of the economic meltdown, more than a dozen U.S. retailers have filed for bankruptcy so far this year, it was reported on Sunday.

    Industry experts expect more to file early next year as the reality of a lackluster holiday season becomes clear, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

    As the economic meltdown deepened, some well-known retailers in the nation, such as Mervyns, Linens 'N Things, Shoe Pavilion and Whitehall Jewellers, have started liquidating their inventories, which is part and parcel of going belly up, the paper said.

    Both Mervyns and Linens 'N Things originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in hopes of emerging smaller but financially stable, but later resorted to liquidation.

    Other recent bankruptcies include Sharper Image, Wickes Furniture and McMahan's Furniture, a family-owed chain based in Santa Monica near Los Angeles. Other retailers are shutting lower-performing stores to try to stay in business, according to the paper.

    "We've got a number of retailers who are barely hanging on," said Bill Dombrowski, president and chief executive officer of the California Retailers Association.

    After initially being planned to begin Friday, going-out-of-business sales started Saturday at Mervyns' remaining 149 stores after hearings held Thursday in federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware determined which liquidators would run the sales.

    Hudson Capital Partners of Newton, Massachusetts, is one of four firms in charge of liquidating more than 900 million dollars in Mervyns merchandise.

    "I've been in this business for 15 years and I've never seen it like this," said James Schaye, Hudson Capital's president and chief executive officer, adding that his firm is also running sales for Linens 'N Things, Shoe Pavilion and Whitehall Jewellers.